I Just want to Sing
by ChaosKirin
Summary: Catalina's been having dreams lately... and there's only one other person on the Christa that knows why. What do the dreams mean? This is a story that focuses on Cat's past.


_Brief note on the story… This is first-season/Pre-Suzee, just after Cat met Dram._

__

I Just want to Sing 

By E. Christie

_"Do you think she'll make it?"_

_"…It's too early to say…"_

_"Her sisters are here…"_

Chapter One "A Gift no one wants…" 

There was something heavy on top of her. It was hot, crushing, and made it nearly impossible to move. Unnatural, that's what it was. She could feel herself breaking into a cold sweat as the heavy obstruction pressed down harder on her chest, making it impossible to breathe and causing the inevitable panic that one must feel when their life is about to expire. She tried to cry out, but all her dry mouth could manage with the greatest effort was a weak puff of air that no one would hear. No one would come for her, because even in her sleep, she knew that she was all alone.

Wait… A little movement there. She could control her hand, and wiggle her fingers a bit. Hope! It was hope like she'd never felt before. All she had to do was grab onto that little bit of movement and embrace it. Memorize it. Slowly, painstakingly, the frozen limbs came back to life, and the paralysis that gripped them became more and more a memory, which led the thoroughly relieved young woman to sit up and yell as loud as she could. The noise banished the last of the dream to the darkness as the last bit of her sonic scream echoed off the walls and back to Catalina's ears.

The Saturnian threw the blanket off – that's what had been crushing her in her sleep, for some reason. In any case, she wouldn't need it, as she was still sweating from the effort of throwing off the nightmare… It hadn't been ordinary sleep paralysis she'd endured just then. What was it with her lately, dreaming like this all the time? Frankly, she was scared.

"…Cat? Are you alright?"

Rosie. The scream had awakened her. Catalina could feel herself blushing, though the darkness thankfully hid it well. There was a little light coming from the recessed lighting at the end of Rosie's bunk; as it slid out, it brightened a little until the bunkroom was alight with a gentle yellow glow. It was hardly warm, though, when one realized they were lost among the stars in the coldness of outer space. Still, as it touched the Christa's walls and danced gently against their surfaces, it was as _least _somewhat inviting. 

"…Just… It was just a dream. Don't worry about it."

Even if the recessed lighting wasn't warm, the pink glow that always seemed to emulate from Rosie _was, _both figuratively and literally. Rosie was Mercurian, her temperature constantly around two-hundred degrees. Cat had, on occasion, acquired minor burns by straying too near to her back at Starcademy, but that was long before Rosie learned how to control her surface temperature. Though she no longer felt like the inside of an oven, there was always a feverish warmth about her. Many of the crew found this welcome, though, including Catalina, who was more than happy that Rosie _was _going to worry about her dream, and was already throwing off her blanket and putting her feet on the floor. There was something about Rosie… Even if someone was in a bad mood, when the Mercurian was around, that mood seemed to lift considerably.

"But I _am,_" Rosie responded, offering Catalina a smile as she carefully slid across the smooth floor. She was wearing about ten layers of socks on her feet to keep out the cold, which almost gave them the appearance of paws. Appropriate, considering the stash of stuffed animals she kept nestled in her bunk with her. "You don't dream, Cat. You told us that before! Though I can hardly imagine a life without dreams! It must be awful!"

Catalina shrugged, a motion that caused the stiffness in her shoulder to work itself out in the form of a loud _pop._ It also caused her to shiver involuntarily, which Rosie noted… The soft smile on her lips dipped a bit, and her brow furrowed in concern. Casually, though, she leaned on the foot of the bed, looking blearily up somewhere around Catalina's disheveled multi-colored hair. "What did you see?"

It was the right question to ask, as usual. Instead of something like remarking on the fact that it _must _have been a dream, or asking what was wrong, Rosie asked exactly the right thing to elicit a response from her friend. It caused her to shiver again, and Catalina thought she sensed a small smile of triumph on Rosie's face. If Rosie expected a response, however, she was ill-prepared for the tears the suddenly appeared in Catalina's eyes. Cat turned away, but not quickly enough… Rosie was in front of her in a second, using a warm, gloved hand to dry the tears. Cat pushed her away, though not forcefully.

"I'm not supposed to be a Dream-Gazer," she whispered. Unwilling to meet Rosie's curious grey stare, Cat closed her own eyes. It didn't change the fact that Rosie wasn't going away, though, and the Mercurian was still close enough so that Cat could feel her warmth. The Saturnian had to smile, though, for Rosie's tenacity. "Look. Don't worry about me. I… I'll just talk to Suzee." 

Too bad Suzee was still sleeping.

"Cat, look. I'm here. I'm here _now. _Talk to me. What's wrong…? Do you need to go to MedLab?" The warmth increased as Rosie drew nearer, placing a hand on Cat's slumped shoulder. Usually, the elder cadet would emphasize the fact that like Rosie, Suzee was _also _there, except this time, Suzee _wasn't _there, and Cat really, really needed someone to talk to.

With a bit of reluctance, Catalina opened her eyes again, allowing another small trickle of tears to make their way down her cheeks. Maybe if she stalled long enough, Suzee would awaken… though with both of them being in different dimensions, it was almost impossible to tell _when._ She allowed Rosie to dry the tears again, listening with a bit of surprise as the water contacted Rosie's glove and simply evaporated with a slight sizzling sound.

"Do you know… what we are?" Catalina began. She'd rehearsed this over and over, because she saw it coming. In her mind, she saw herself telling this story to Suzee, though… Or even _Harlan_… The former was usually too preoccupied to listen, though, and the latter… Well, Harlan barely knew Cat existed sometimes, unless he was picking on her for talking to Suzee. Any attempt on Cat's part to get through to him usually ended with Harlan throwing around some sort of hastily put-together insult. Never in her mind had Cat pictured telling Rosie about her fears, but the more she thought about it, the more she knew that out of anyone, Rosie was probably the best listener, and would offer the most comfort… Even if she _wasn't _sure what was going on.

Rosie puzzled for a moment, hairless eyebrows dipping slightly in confusion. "What we are? You mean, like cadets, right? STARDOG cadets."

Catalina shook her head. "No. You and me. What we _are."_ Out of all the cadets on the Christa, it was Catalina alone that seemed to have a true affinity to learning about her own culture before the Rigelians came to the Sol System. "Like, I'm Rigelian-Saturnian. You're Rigelian-Mercurian."

"Oh. That. Well… I really never thought about it much. I mean… I just…" Shrugging, Rosie offered a smile, which Catalina was glad to see. It would make it easier to tell what needed to be told. Even Cat offered a small smile as Rosie continued. "I mean, I know I'm Rigelian, but I didn't really pay too much attention in history. I kinda just think of myself as… being from Mercury. You know?"

It was Cat's chance to shine, and she felt as if she was glowing almost as brightly as Rosie at that point. A chance to tell someone else about Rigelian history! Though it was slightly disappointing that Rosie didn't seem to know much about it, it was an opportunity to show off her knowledge in a subject that she was actually passing back at Starcademy. History. 

"Rigel's a star closer to the center of the galaxy than the Sol System's sun. I mean, our ancestors just called it the Daytime Star, but I think I like 'Rigel' better. It's what we're called, after all. Rigelians." Cat had endlessly argued with herself over whether or not to continue even calling herself Rigelian… Really, it was just a term adopted by the earthers when the interstellar transport ships arrived and the first people out of the shuttle pointed out the star from which they hailed. Rigel. Rosie nodded, urging Cat to continue. "There was one medium-sized planet with a cluster of moons surrounding it…"

"Oh, I know that one! Because we called it 'Earth,' too, right? And the moons were…"

"Named after their founders. Right." Cat wasn't sure whether to be pleased that Rosie knew a bit about their ancestry, or disappointed that she'd been interrupted. "When Earth got too populated, people split off to colonize the moons. They evolved differently. Each developed unique talents…" She smiled up at Rosie, who's past lay on the ever-volcanic Syerin moon of the Rigelian Earth. 

"But the dreams," Rosie said eagerly. It was with sudden disappointment that Catalina realized that her friend didn't really care about their own history… But the disappointment was overshadowed by the fact that Rosie genuinely cared about _her_.

"We… Saturnians…" It was becoming easier to use their Rigelian name now. "…Some developed the ability to Dream-Gaze.  There was a period of hundreds of years when no one dreamed. It was a latent talent, though… Just… developing, I guess." She stumbled over the words as Rosie jumped up on the bed next to her. The blanket Catalina had discarded minutes before found its way around Rosie's shoulders.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Rosie whispered reverently, excitedly. "You're a Dream-Gazer!"

"Shh!" Catalina cautioned, shaking her head emphatically. Perhaps if she didn't hear it, it wouldn't be true… After all, she'd been denying it for a long time now. Hearing it said out loud, though, by someone _other _that herself, was something of a splash of cold water. As Rosie shuddered back a little, apologetic at her outburst, Cat just sighed, dipping her head until she was looking at the floor. Her vision swam with multi-colored hair for a moment, before she brushed it back.

"I… guess I am."

"But… what's it mean? I mean, why? You know… What's a Dream-Gazer?"

Cat's green eyes remained lowered to the floor for a long time. Next to her, Rosie's temperature was increasing as she anticipated the story… It was something new, and something exciting. Something she'd never heard about before, and something to learn. In a word, it was Rosie's dream. 

But Catalina didn't answer her friend. Instead, the two cadets sat there in silence for a while, each occasionally stealing glances at the clock. Each minute that ticked by signaled another moment closer to the time they'd have to get up and go through the whole day's routine again. Rosie was growing impatient. Catalina's resolve was failing. It was forever before the latter looked up, and Rosie held her breath in anticipation of the story…

"Good morning, Suzee," Catalina said.

Rosie deflated. Disappointed, she began to slink down off Cat's bunk so she could return to her own and get what sleep she could before 0900 hours rolled around. She should have expected it… Cat was always sort of enigmatic, and out of all the people on the Christa, why would the Saturnian tell _Rosie_ anything? Oh, well! At least she knew now that not all Saturnians didn't dream! That was a heck of a discovery! Wait until she told—

"Rosie, get some paper. And something to write with."

Rosie turned. Cat's head was still down, her greenish eyes looking at the floor. "What?" 

"Look. Do you want me to tell you or not?"

"Uhm. Yeah! Okay!" There was still a chance! Paper was something that was rather easy to come by, too, as far as Rosie was concerned. As long as she could keep from burning the paper, she loved drawing. Opening a drawer and shoving aside several plush animals, she withdrew a stack of homemade paper and a box of colorful markers. In her haste to return back across the room to present these to Catalina, Rosie tripped and skidded to a stop on her knees.

"Careful, Rosie!" Catalina said, finally stirred enough from whatever reverie she'd entered to get to her feet. Hers were bare, and thus didn't slide out from under her as she hurried to help Rosie back up. The Mercurian held out the paper, but Cat shook her head. "No. It's for you… Write something on it. A question or something. Don't let me see it."

"…Alright…" 

Smiling a little, Cat reached behind her and pulled herself back up onto her bunk. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to affirm to anyone that Suzee actually was real. Keeping people guessing was incredibly fun… Especially Harlan. One day, he'd find out the truth… Cat had that scripted, too. A classic 'I-told-you-so' moment. Harlan would discover that Suzee was real, and Cat would say, "So. Don't you owe someone an apology?"

But Catalina also needed to tell _someone_ about Suzee… She'd go crazy if she didn't. Seven years on the Christa, and no one to believe her? Turning to allow Rosie full privacy while she wrote on the paper, Cat looked at the bunkroom wall. Next to her, Suzee's pale blue aura watched as Rosie wrote out a question, which the Yensidian then read back to Catalina, word for word.

"No, that's too easy," the Saturnian said. "Ask me something harder."

Rosie turned, looking incredulously at Cat's back. There was no way she could have seen what was written! Just in case, she hunched over the paper a bit more, blocking all possible viewing angles. Suzee simply stood and parked herself in front of Rosie, and though she had to read the question upside-down, it wasn't difficult. 

"I thought I said _one _question," Cat chuckled, which gathered another slightly puzzled glance from Rosie. "I'm almost seventeen. The proper spelling of Rigelian is R-I-G-E-L-I-A-N. Suzee says that's a cute drawing of a bunny… And the answer to the first question you asked is four."

"Gods. She's real, isn't she?" It was more a statement than a question. Rosie allowed the markers to clatter to the tiled floor as she looked from the paper to her friend. Smiling, Cat turned to look at the other girl, who was holding out the paper she'd written on. The first question, deemed too easy and subsequently crossed out, was the simple two-plus-two math problem. Rosie had then written 'How old are you?' And while she thought of another question, she'd doodled a little rabbit face in the space under the second question.

"Suzee was right, though. That's a cute drawing."

"But… You… All this time…"

"It's why they sent me to Starcademy," Cat interrupted, waving Rosie's stammering off. "I showed them… That." She pointed to the paper. "I thought they'd believe me then, but…" She trailed off, leaving Rosie to nod her head, encouraging an ending to the statement. But what? Why had Cat been sent to the academy instead of a school on Saturn?

Rosie'd recovered somewhat, and Cat was almost amused to see the girl's pale eyes scanning the room, perhaps subconsciously, for a chance to see conclusively whether or not Suzee was real. "You won't be able to see her, but she says hello. And she's glad someone believes she's real."

"What's that have to do with your talent, though?" Rosie asked. 

"Well… Certain Saturnians are… receptive to very strong thoughts. The strongest thoughts come in the form of dreams. Sometimes they're clear, and sometimes…" Cat paused, thinking of the dream she'd had that signaled Dram's arrival. "…Some are really vague. It depends on the condition of the person."

The door to the bunkroom opened, and Thelma stepped in. Rosie's face fell again.

"Ah! I see you are already up!" Thelma's face brightened into a wide smile. "Breakfast is in fifteen minutes. Please do not be late."

As Catalina slid out of bed again and gathered up her uniform, Rosie had to ask one more question. "The condition of the person?"

The Saturnian grabbed a couple fresh towels off her bunk before stepping into the bathroom. Just before the door shut, Rosie could see a wary green eye looking at her…

"The dreams are a lot clearer if the person sending them is dead."

**_Chapter Two_**

_"There is Nothing Faster than the Speed of Thought."_

****

Class was not easy that day, at least for two of the Christa's students. Catalina, obviously, was having several issues with the fact that she was what Rigelian-Saturnians called Dream-Gazers… But the real debate lay not in Cat's mind, but in the mind of her pink-faced friend halfway across the Christa. Rosie sat at her seat in the classroom, right next to Bova. It wasn't quite the usual arrangement, but as Cat, Harlan, and Radu were at ComPost listening to a lesson on piloting from Goddard, that left the two 'youngest' cadets to face the wrath of Davenport's class. Bova's presence, surprisingly, didn't seem to phase Rosie today; indeed, she barely even noticed the fact that he'd sat next to her – willingly! Neither was she concerned as Davenport droned on about the properties of anti-matter and the possible scientific evidence that neutrinos had on the mind.

Unfolded in front of her was a rather beaten up sheet of paper, upon which was written three questions and a little drawing of a bunny. How had Catalina seen them? There wasn't any way she could think of. Not only was Catalina turned around, but Rosie, herself, was blocking the paper from Cat's view by facing in the completely opposite direction! There had to be some sort of explanation, though.

But the real question was whether or not Rosie wanted to believe Suzee was real. Here, she had very solid proof that there was something about Catalina that the rest of the crew didn't know. Something that, despite Rosie's almost constantly positive thinking, was somewhat dark… Or at least covered in shadows of some sort. In any case, it wasn't sunny! It made sense, when she thought about it, though. Catalina was known to be a sweet girl, if not quite bossy and stubborn at times… It was either the influence of this 'Suzee,' or else it was that Dream-Gazing…

Which was another thing entirely. What was it? Cat never fully explained it, and that slight, tenuous balance between understanding and ignorance was leaning farther and farther toward ignorance. The more the Mercurian speculated, the further it tipped. Was it some sort of mind-reading thing? That could be it! That would explain why Catalina made up Suzee; it was to cover for the fact that she had some sort of psychic power that she didn't want anyone to know about.

Then there was the statement about the reason Catalina was sent to Starcademy in the first place… 'I thought they'd believe me then, but…' Evidently, her aunt and uncle hadn't believed her, and then had shipped her off to the military school. Had they been thinking the same thing as Rosie? That Cat was somehow psychic? And why had they shipped her off? 

They were afraid of Dream-Gazers.

Suddenly, Bova elbowed Rosie in the ribs, and her attention snapped back to the lesson. Or, rather, snapped back to the annoyed expression Miss Davenport was giving her. 

"She asked you a question," Bova provided helpfully, his dark eyes scanning what probably seemed to him to be meaningless scribbles on Rosie's paper. She hurriedly crumpled it.

Shrugging, Bova sat up again.

"Miss Ianni. Your mind hasn't been in this lesson at all today! Is there something wrong?"

"Just… No, I'm fine, Miss Davenport." Rosie did her best to smile, but when one spends most of their life smiling, their companions can tell when they're faking it. Davenport's annoyed expression turned to one of concern.

"Well… Don't worry about the question, dear. Just… try to pay attention, hm?" The woman went back to droning about massless particles flittering through minds, and soon Rosie was once more lost in her own thoughts. She tried to pay attention, really. But there was so much other than neutrinos to think about!

"What was that paper you were holding?"

"Wha…?" 

When next Rosie looked up, the classroom was empty, except for herself and Bova. The latter rolled his eyes, pointing to the balled-up sheet of drawing paper. "About ten minutes ago. I saw you lookin' at that. And hey. If you aren't gonna head to the galley, you don't mind if I have your lunch, do you? Because I'm starved."

Rosie unfolded the paper, carefully. Earlier, she'd been so eager to tell people that Suzee was real, but after thinking about it, she wasn't so sure. What if that was betraying Cat's trust or something? Even though the Saturnian was always correcting people as to whether or not Suzee was imaginary or invisible, it seemed like such a breach in confidence to offer the deciding proof of Suzee's existence.

"Just a couple notes I made. See? I crumpled 'em up 'cuz you just caught me by surprise. Sorry."

Bova shrugged, noncommittally. "So. Can I have your lunch?"

"Sure," Rosie shrugged right back. "If you help me find Cat."

"Catalina?" he inquired. "Well, that's easy. I mean… It's… Well, I don't know what day of the week it is anymore. Not that it matters. One of those days I _didn't _get to sleep in 'til ten-hundred hours. Before lunch, she goes down to the engine room to do a quick test, so she's probably down there now. You can probably catch her on her way up."

"Thanks, Bova!" Rosie gave him a quick, cheerful hug, and for a moment, Bova thought that perhaps the entire 'not-paying-attention' bit was just some sort of joke. Then, he realized, Rosie's worst moods were often similar to his _best_ moods, and so, dropping the subject entirely in his mind, he programmed the jump tube to take him to his two lunches. The boy's belly was already rumbling at the prospect.

As the Uranusian disappeared down the jumptube, Rosie paused near the control. It wasn't that she had to wait; according to Thelma, the network could store and remember up to and over a thousand different destinations at once, even when two people were entering through the same portal and exiting through two different ones. It was more along the lines of the fact that she'd have to talk to Catalina. Or, even more specifically, that Cat probably wouldn't want to talk to _her_ after the morning's discussion. 

Still, there was little sense in avoiding it for any longer. They'd talk eventually, and it was better that they got it off their minds _now_ than waiting until they were both tired and incoherent come Christa's artificial nightfall. Programming the jumptube to take her to the engine room, Rosie took a deep breath, hefted her feet into the tube, and then let go of the bar she'd used to lift herself up. If Cat was, indeed, down there, there'd be no turning back now!

A trip through the jumptubes was always weird. The only one that had virtually nothing to say on the subject was Bova, but he usually didn't care much about anything. Though Rosie had never been inside of a vacuum, it was the only way she could describe the feeling. It was like coasting through air, with lights whizzing by overhead at incredible speed. There were static electricity dampers that buzzed all the time, and while they were designed to keep sparks from short-circuiting the ship, they also conveniently removed static from clothing.

Once one was in the tube, and had adapted to the weird, yet comfortable feeling of being sucked through a vacuum, it was only a matter of seconds until the tube spit them out at the programmed destination. Seeing the yellow light of the engine room approaching, and feeling the slight decrease in speed as she neared her destination, Rosie barely had enough time to pull her coat down a bit before she was freefalling the two-foot drop to the floor. She landed on her feet, blue eyes scanning at the same time for Catalina. The Saturnian wasn't working on the engines, exactly. Instead, she was sitting in front of them, her back up against one of the ion collectors. Her face was buried in her hands.

"Hello, Rosie," she said.

"Hey, Cat," Rosie offered conversationally. "How'd you know it was me?"

"Suzee told me."

It was odd. Just yesterday, Rosie would have rolled her eyes at the mention of Suzee. Today, the invisible girl's reference made her pause… Before she offered an unsure, "Hey, Suzee."

Catalina finally looked up. Her eyes were red, probably from crying, Rosie thought, as she sat down in front of her friend. "Do you wanna talk at all? Because, you know, I'm here, if you want to."

"Oh, I'm alright. I just… I was working with the engine, and got shocked a bit." Cat looked somewhat guilty at the admission. Rosie just rolled her eyes.

"You're not thinking clearly. Look… Come up with me to MedLab. I'll make sure you're alright. You shouldn't be working on the engine with all this going on, anyway." She felt silly standing again so soon after she'd sat down, but Rosie did so anyway, offering her hand to Catalina.

"All _what_ going on?"

"I was thinking about it," Rosie said. "And… you said they shipped you off to Starcademy _after_ you tried to prove Suzee was real, right?" She looked toward open air, and Cat chuckled a bit, refraining from telling Rosie that Suzee was on her _other_ side. "Are people on Saturn afraid of Dream-Gazers?"

Cat's smile faded.

"Look. Just come with me, alright? I have to make sure nothing happened. And that way we can talk!"

"I don't really want to talk about it," Catalina said, at the same time reaching out to take Rosie's hand. The Mercurian pulled her up, steadying her as she almost fell forward into the engine.

"Well… Maybe later then."

"Maybe."

Catalina leaned on Rosie's shoulder and allowed herself to be guided toward the jumptube. She certainly didn't feel like taking a trip through it at the moment, especially with the nauseous feeling in her stomach, she wasn't sure she could take the trip _up _the tube to the lab above. Still, it was infinitely better than walking the halls and stairways. That might take an hour. With the jumptube, it would take only a few minutes at most; depending on how confused the wiring was today. Hopefully it wasn't one of the Christa's housecleaning days. One never knew, though, when they were traveling on a partially sentient ship.

"Go on. I'll see ya up there." Rosie helped Cat into the tube, programming their destination into the console on the wall. After Catalina was safely on her way, Rosie jumped in herself.

The first thing Rosie remembered thinking on her short trip was the fact that the electricity levels seemed to be awfully high… The static electricity dampers must have been malfunctioning. The last thing Rosie remembered thinking came seconds later, as the jumptube was filled with blinding blue electricity and suddenly all Rosie saw was blackness.

**_Chapter Three_**

_"Is there hope?"_

"Jumptubes show an increase of static electricity, followed by a severe short in the system," Thelma chirped cheerfully. Of course, this wasn't exactly cheerful news, and Harlan and Radu stopped what they were doing and looked at the android.

"What…?" Harlan asked, the first to speak.

Thelma blinked. "Jumptubes show an increase of static electricity, followed by a severe short in the system," she repeated.

"No. No. What does that _mean?" _Radu pursued, jumping down off the navigation station and approaching Harlan and Thelma at the helm. 

"Well, it means that the system is no longer working. The… Christa is already attempting repairs, though it seems like one section is still being problematic. Hm. Odd. The Christa cannot seem to reach it."

Harlan's eyebrows lowered. "Okay, so the jumptubes are down again."

Thelma's expression remained passive. "Affirmative."

"And the Christa can't fix them," Radu added.

Thelma nodded. "Also affirmative, at the moment."

"At the moment?" Harlan questioned. "What's keeping her from fixing them 'at the moment?' I mean, we kinda need to get them back online."

Radu rolled his eyes, offering a friendly elbowing in Harlan's direction. "Yeah. Heaven forbid we'd actually have to walk anywhere."

Harlan was about to retort, when he was interrupted by Thelma. "Ah! I have discovered the problem. The Christa cannot repair the jumptube… mainly because of an anomaly present in a twenty-foot section of jump-tube number eight. It has shut itself off from the other systems… having trapped two of the crew within."

Harlan and Radu stared at each other for a second, before shouting at nearly the same time… "Who?!"

Thelma continued smiling her perpetual, non-caring smile. Somewhere in her mind, she was afraid for the trapped people, though, being an android, she was unable to convey it through conventional means. "Catalina and Rosie," she answered, cheerfully.

***

Rosie rubbed her head, opening her eyes to stare into an absolute blackness. She couldn't see anything… which was odd, considering there was usually a slight pink glow that constantly emanated from her skin. Oddly enough, she couldn't even really rub her head… It was more along the lines of forming a general idea of rubbing her head, then feeling it without actually doing it. What was going on?

Shouldn't she be in the MedLab by now? Or, at least, still in the jumptube? Forming the idea of feeling around her, Rosie discovered that she seemed to be floating in a nothingness as complete as the darkness itself. Was she dreaming?

_I don't think it's that,_ came a wordless voice.

_Catalina? _Rosie responded. _What's going on?_

The darkness was still as thick as ever, though the detached voice of Catalina seemed close enough to be coming from inside her mind.

_I don't know. I think we're asleep._

The darkness started to congeal into _things._ A bunk, and a table. A small child seated on the floor, idly passing an earth-style car from hand to hand on the bedspread in front of her. It would roll a little ways, then stop, the friction too great on the wheels to allow it to move any further.

_Asleep?_

_Yes. And I think I'm dreaming. I'm sorry, Rosie._

Suddenly, Rosie's consciousness… At least the consciousness she could register as being her own, ended, as she lived through the eyes of another.

***

"Catty?" the girl looked up into the face of a blue-eyed older woman. She wore her colorful hair in a loose braid, and she seemed defeated. Sad. Of course, Catalina really didn't understand this sadness.

"Your sisters are here. They want to talk to you, alright?"

Cat looked down, and realized for the first time that her own arms were bandaged. And her legs. And her face hurt. "Did I do something bad?" the child asked. Her severe tone caused the nurse's eyes to tear up. Instantly, Cat attempted to rise to her feet, finding the pain too great to do so. "Oh, don't worry! I can fix it! Don't be sad!"

The nurse smiled a little, shaking her head. "No. You didn't do anything wrong, Catalina."

"Then why are Thetia and Nereid here?" she wondered curiously, the car in her hands all but forgotten. Thetia was her younger sister by two years. Nereid was much older, and for reasons unknown to Catalina, had recently started taking care of Thetia. It hadn't been long… Ever since Cat and her parents went on that hovercar ride to get ice cream. Ever since Cat had ended up in this huge, white-walled building. At least she could sit up now, and she understood that there had been an 'accident.' Naturally, since she was involved, Catalina assumed that the accident was her fault, and that eventually she was going to get blamed for it. She was, however, more than ready to fix it.

The nurse left, and Nereid entered, balancing Thetia on her hip. Cat's gaze followed them, intently focusing on her older sister's expression. This was it, the young Saturnian thought. She was about to get chewed out for something!

Nereid sat down in the chair next to Cat's bed, setting Thetia on her lap. The child was sucking on her thumb, long, red bangs resting across her eyes in an unkempt, tomboyish fashion. It was a strange contrast to Nereid's own neat hair… It, too, was red, and contained several other colors besides. Green and blue were prominent. Out of the three siblings, only Catalina's hair contained every color. Cat, of course, was proud of this fact.

"Hey there, squirt," Nereid said. Her voice was sad.

"Don't worry. I'm sure I didn't break it too bad," replied Catalina.

Thetia squirmed a bit, and Nereid set the toddler down on the floor. There wasn't too much to get into in a hospital room, anyway. And the door was closed, so at least she wouldn't escape while her two older sisters talked. 

"Cat, I need you to tell me something," Nereid said. Cat saw that her eyes were red, and thought, perhaps, that she'd tried to dye her eyes to match her hair. Silly sister.

"Alright," the younger of the two replied cheerfully.

There was a long pause. Nereid reached out to take Cat's hand, and held it tightly. "I need you to tell me… Do you know… Do you know what death is?"

"It's when someone stops moving. When they go to sleep and they never wake up." It was what her parents had told her.

"That's right," Nereid continued. She released Cat's hand, and reached into the pocket of her jacket for a tissue. After dabbing at her eyes, she reached back over to take her sister's hands. "…Mom and dad… they stopped moving today. Catalina… Do you understand?"

The child's face remained blank.

"…The accident. It was very bad. And… Mom and dad… Fell asleep. They aren't going to wake up."

Emerald eyes widened to an impossibly huge size, and though they stared directly at Nereid, they looked right through her. Suddenly, death made sense… To a six-year-old girl, 'death' had before merely meant that Uncle Janus wouldn't be coming over to play anymore. There was a point in everyone's life when the meaning of death truly hit, though. One moment you were an innocent child, and the next… you knew that even though the world was sunny and bright and that you'd wake up every morning to play, there was a crushing monster known as 'Death' that took people before you were through loving them.

"Was it because I wanted ice cream?" Catalina asked. She could feel the tears in her eyes.

Nereid had just entered adulthood. At nineteen earth years of age, she was still halfway between thinking as a grown-up and thinking as a child. The answer to Catalina's simple question could very well make-or-break her sister's future. Answer as the adult and offer comfort, or answer as she felt… Answer as the child whose anger at her parents' death needed to somehow be satiated, even if it meant attacking her own sister.

"Yes, Catalina. If you hadn't wanted ice cream, they wouldn't have been on the road."

***

Rosie jerked awake, her consciousness suddenly flooded with the buzzing of static and tiny little lightning bolts that flew between the electricity dampers and the lights. At first she tried to avoid them, until she realized that they were surging through her, as well… Yet she was feeling no pain. They would arc behind her, curving off some sort of invisible barrier, before trailing down the jumptube and into the darkness in front of her. One of the Mercurian's gloved hands reached out to try to touch the unseen barrier at her back, but it simply stopped as if it had hit something solid. Looked like the only way to go was up.

Finding a foothold on the ribbed interior of the tube, Rosie started ascending the gentle slope which would eventually lead her up to MedLab. There were several forks and branches; though they, too, were closed off by some sort of invisible barrier. It certainly made finding the right path rather easy.

Ahead, she could see Catalina's unconscious form, her rainbow-haired head caught in a stream of the tiny bolts, which would hover for a moment before zooming back toward Rosie. Rosie looked behind her, and saw that the darkness had followed… It seemed like the bolts were somehow connecting herself with Catalina. She barely had time to wonder why before a sudden fatigue gripped her, and she slipped once more into unconsciousness.

***

"Radu! What's wrong? Can you see anything?"

Radu shook his head, eying the screen he held in his hands. "No, it shorted out again as soon as it hit that current. I got father this time, though. It's like someone opened up an electrical storm inside the jumptube."

"Thelma, can you reactivate it?" Harlan asked. 

"I am sorry, Harlan, but I would need to physically retrieve the Gizbot this time to activate him. He is not responding." Thelma's features actually flicked with worry for a moment, though the smile refused to fade. At least, Thelma thought, she was able to help in some way. 

Radu's shoulders slumped as he leaned against the entrance to jumptube eight. They'd tried shouting down the tube before sending Gizbot, and the only thing they'd discovered was that somewhere in the middle of the tube, an electrical current blocked all passage. "You know, I think it _moved_ that time, though. Like, the beginning of the storm is farther down the tube. Thelma?"

"…Affirmative, Radu," the android replied after a short calculation. "It seems that the electrical field is gradually getting smaller. Hm. The concentrated electricity is also allowing me to detect that Rosie is alive, but not well."

Harlan's eyes widened. "We have to go in after them," he said. It was the heroic thing to say, after all. "…Right?"

"We could be fried," Radu mused, looking down into the darkness. If he squinted, he thought, perhaps, he could see a bit of light in front of him. Probably just a trick of the eyes…

"If I may," offered Thelma, "I believe Bova is excellent at interpreting electrical anomalies. Or, at least, he is good at not getting himself electrocuted while exploring them."

Briefly, both boys looked at Thelma before running off to locate Bova. The android was left alone, still struggling to locate the Gizbot in the network of intraship tunnels. Gizbot, she thought, would never be the same after this.

***

_I didn't want you to have to see that, _Catalina said.

_I'm sure it's not your fault,_ Rosie returned, though she was, admittedly, quite disturbed by the memory. Why was Cat dreaming about it? And if it was a message…

_Who is it from? I don't know. I can't wake up. Something's keeping me from waking up…_

_***_

It was a different room. This one was decorated with blue paint, a neatly made bed, and several different tables and dressers, which doubtless held many of Catalina's possessions. 

The girl, herself, sat on the floor in tears. It was her fault they died… Nereid had told her so! And while she was still bandaged at various intervals from head to toe, it was the new pain in her heart that really made those tears. She'd never sit on her dad's lap again. Mom would never read her another story. 

And what was worse, Nereid didn't want her. She had to stay at her aunt's house with all her stuffy rules, and bad food, and all her old lady friends who would stop by now and then and smelled like old ladies, and a view of Titan that stretched on forever and ever with nothing but a bunch of brown rock. At least Saturn would appear in the window sometimes. It was a beautiful planet.

"Hey," said a voice.

Cat turned, her reddened eyes finding a translucent blue form sitting on the floor right next to her. The girl's curious eyes watched Cat with interest, and she offered the faintest of smiles.

"Are you a ghost?" Catalina asked.

"No. Are you?" the girl responded. 

"I don't think so," Cat answered, though she wasn't so sure. 

"I heard you crying. I don't know why…" the girl reached out a hand to touch Cat's shoulder. "I can't seem to reach you. You don't seem to be here. And my kitty is sitting in you."

Catalina looked down. Sure enough, a translucent blue cat seemed to be sitting in a position halfway through her legs. Only its top half was visible as it casually licked its paw. The Saturnian scooted backwards as quickly as her injuries would allow, and the cat never moved. "Are you _sure you're not a ghost?"_

The blue girl rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure! I mean, it _could be that we're simply crossing over in parallel dimensions and I'll be on my way soon enough. But I think it's more than that, you know? I'm Suzee."_

Cat hesitated for a moment, before answering, "I'm Catalina."

            Suzee started to hold out her hand for Catalina to shake, but then realized that, while the gesture might be appreciated, it was ultimately pointless. Her eyes narrowed as Cat hastily wiped her drippy nose on a sleeve. "So… why were you crying?"

            "I don't want to tell you," Catalina said, her lip sticking out in a pout.

"But I can't help you, if you don't tell me," Suzee responded, her expression smug. Even at seven years of age, she had the beginnings of that arrogant ego that would define her in her later years.

The Saturnian, though, didn't care, and simply looked at the floor. "No… I think you should go away."

Suzee looked genuinely concerned. Not only did this girl seem to need help, but should she lose contact with her, she couldn't carry out the scientific report she'd already begun to piece together in her mind. Really, though, for once in her life, the Yensidian was more concerned about the _person than the problem. Could Catalina actually be a friend? "I don't want to go away."_

"My parents told me not to talk to strangers."

"I'm not a stranger though, right? Hey! Go introduce me to your parents! I bet they'll tell you that you can talk to me!"

Suddenly the tears that were waiting in Cat's eyes all fell at once. "…I can't," she said softly, between sobs. Suzee looked relatively alarmed, and despite the fact that she knew they wouldn't be able to make contact, she reached out a hand to set it gently where Catalina's shoulder would be. Somehow, she'd definitely hit a weak spot.

"My parents died… not too long ago."

Drawing back, Suzee was speechless for a moment. "…Well, maybe that's why I'm here. Maybe… Maybe we can be friends."

Cat smiled through the tears. "You sure are smart, Suzee," she said.

Grinning, Suzee responded, "I know."

***

She didn't wake up this time, but the dream faded back into darkness. Rosie's consciousness separated from Catalina's, and the two once more found themselves in the present… Incorporeal as they were. _So that's Suzee? Rosie asked._

_A much younger version of her, _Catalina responded, a hint of a chuckle in the detached voice. _I remember when we met._

_I still don't know what it all means, _Rosie mused. _Why are you dreaming? And why am I seeing them?_

There was no answer. By this time, Rosie was growing quite used to the feeling of vertigo that marked the beginning of one of Catalina's dreams. 

***

"So, you want me to crawl into the jumptube and _through a possibly dangerous electric field to see if Rosie and Cat are alright."_

"Yeah."

Bova did not look happy. Of course, he _never_ looked happy, but at this particular moment, he'd been called away from a double lunch and asked to risk his life to crawl through a faulty jumptube. Thus, he looked _especially unhappy, though the difference between Bova's normal unhappy, and this elevated state of __especially unhappy, was so miniscule that even Harlan and Radu had a hard time telling if he even cared or not._

"Alright. Fine. Okay. But if I die, you're the ones that are gonna have to tell the Commander and Miss Davenport about me. I'm certainly not gonna be around to do it." Somewhere in the back of the Uranusian's mind, he was particularly concerned about Rosie and whether or not she was okay. Cat, too, though Rosie's welfare was first and foremost on his mind. "You want to tell me what's going on in there first?"

"Well, as far as we can tell," Harlan began, "A section of the network has shut itself off from the rest of the Christa. There's a recording…"

Radu held out the image gained by the Gizbot seconds before it shorted out. Wall to wall electricity zoomed about inside the viewscreen.

"Huh," Bova thought aloud. "Neutrino collectors. The static dampers are acting as neutrino collectors."

***

She was singing.

Somewhere along the line, her hair had been cut short, above her collar. As she stood on the causeway leading to the shuttle, all she could do was sing, and stare out the window at the splendid view of Saturn and three of its moons. Four, if you counted the ugly landscape of Titan that stretched out under the window.

And she continued to sing. Catalina was older now by four years. At the age of ten, she'd already been attending school for some time. It was her aunt's idea to send her off to the military school orbiting Pluto. It was called the Starcademy… and it was Cat's family's hope that whatever nonsense she'd been spouting about Suzee would somehow all be erased if she went to school there. Her latest attempt to convince them all that Suzee was real ended with her aunt screaming and running out of the room. 

Something about Dream-Gazers.

"I don't want to go, Suzee." 

"I wouldn't, either," the translucent girl agreed. She almost seemed to be leaning on the window's ledge, but upon closer inspection, Catalina could see the outline of Suzee's dresser below her elbows. The Yensidian really was all Cat had now. Her family had disowned her, and she was going to a place where she had no friends at all. It wasn't exactly the happiest of days.

Somehow, though, something stirred in the back of Catalina's mind that assured her that everything was okay. "Did you feel that?" Cat asked. Suzee shrugged, and continued looking out the window toward Saturn.

"Nope. Unless you're talking about the person that just walked through me. Kinda weird, but I barely notice it anymore."

Cat shook her head.

"All leaving for Starcademy… repeat. All leaving for Starcademy. Your shuttle leaves in ten minutes." A bored voice droned over the intercom. "Please traverse to the nearest platform and board your shuttle."

As soon as Cat moved from the window, the comforting feeling dissipated, leaving her more confused than anything else. Suzee caught her eyes, and jerked her thumb toward the end of the causeway. "You'd better get goin' unless you wanna be stuck on Titan longer than you have to be."

Catalina decided to drop the subject, and, hefting an enormous green duffel bag over her shoulder, she stalked off toward the shuttle.

***

_Did you feel that?_ Catalina asked.

_Yeah, I did,_ Rosie responded.

There was a silence for a long time. _I forgot about that. I felt it a few times after that, too, but I just dismissed it. I have to know more._

Rosie smiled, as best she could without form. _Go for it, Cat! She said, just before feeling the weightless detachment of yet another dream._

***

**_Chapter four_**

_"Follow your dreams. They might actually answer something."_

"Great. We're being laid-over," Catalina hissed, her lip curling slightly as she looked out the window. The trip had already gone two days, and they were nearing their destination. Unfortunately, they were stopping over for a few hours on a moon of Uranus to pick up a few more Starcademy cadets. At least, she thought, she had a little bunk to stretch out on. She was afraid she'd be stuck in a chair for the entire four-day voyage. 

"Why don't you go out and take a look around. It's a completely alien station."

"Are you crazy, Suzee?" Cat couldn't believe her ears. A couple of the other people in her cabin rolled their eyes. They knew _someone was crazy, at least._

"Look, all I said was…" 

Catalina interrupted her friend. "Uranusians are the most pessimistic people in the entire Sol system. Everyone knows that."

"Well, I didn't," Suzee admitted, somewhat hurt. How was she supposed to know all this? After all, before she'd met Catalina, she'd never heard of the Sol system, let alone the people in it. Sure, she knew a bit about Mercurians, and a lot about Earthers, but the outer-planet denizens… Well, the only thing she knew was that they existed.

"Sorry…" Cat seemed genuinely apologetic. "Alright, we'll go out and have a look, okay? Just… Just… Don't make me talk to anyone."

Sitting up, the Saturnian unzipped the green duffel bag at the foot of her bed and rifled through it until she found a brush. Running it through her hair was rather simple, given its new short length; it was still odd to her that there was just nothing to brush past her shoulders. While most of the other students and travelers were comfortable staying on the shuttle for the next few hours to read or listen to music, or whatever, Cat was going to go gallivanting around an alien station with an invisible friend in tow. Nothing odd about that. Nothing at all! A short trip down the elevator, and they were at ground level. As they exited the ship, a man at the door told them that the shuttle would be leaving in three hours… and asked them politely not to be late.

"See? It's _just _like the one on Titan," Catalina offered, "Except the dirt is grey instead of brown."

She leaned on a window ledge, which was remarkably similar to the other windowledge she'd leaned on a couple days prior. There was a view of Uranus out the window, and a moon. Unlike the view from Titan, however, there were a couple domed settlements on Umbriel that seemed to lead to the underground cityscapes that Uranusians called home.

"I agree."

Catalina turned. Behind her was a young Uranusian boy, carting the exact same standard-issue green duffel bag she had. His eyes were heavily lidded and bored. Dismissive. Cat rolled her eyes. "You agree?"

"You said the moon was nothing special. I agree."

Grumbling, Cat turned back to the window. "You're twisting my words."

"But it's what you meant, right? You said you'd seen it before, and you weren't impressed by it. Which makes it nothing special."

"Now you're putting words in my mouth," Catalina growled, though she wasn't too terribly annoyed. What the boy said was true.

He leaned on the ledge next to her. She scooted away.

"You're from Saturn, right? I'm from here, obviously. I'm Bova."

"Catalina," the Saturnian offered. And, thinking twice, motioned to the empty air next to her. "This is Suzee… my invisible friend."

Bova blinked, his dark eyes staring out the window at the planet. "…I'm sure you've heard we're pessimistic. That's true. But I'd never heard Saturnians were crazy."

Catalina simply rolled her eyes. At the same time, a comfort washed through her. A familiarity. She looked at Bova in a new light. "Suzee and I think that you could use a friend," she said.

"I don't need friends," Bova replied. Then he paused. "But it would be nice to have someone to talk to on the way to Starcademy."

***

"Well, you're probably going to have to talk to Catalina about that," Bova droned, looking down into the jumptube. "She's the engineer. Not me."

Radu looked annoyed. Worse than annoyed. Bordering on losing his temper. But it was Harlan that spoke.

"We _can't ask Catalina. She's stuck in the tube!"_

"Well, _yeah,"_ said Bova, as if everything fit together and made perfect sense. "Alright, fine. I'll crawl in and see what's goin' on. You and Radu stay here and remain perfectly safe. Sound good to you?"

"Sure," Harlan said, moderately satisfied. Radu elbowed him.

"Look, Bova," Radu began. "If you can't do it… then…"

Bova shook his head. "I owe it to them," he said, and crawled into the tube.

"What did _that _mean," Harlan asked. Radu shrugged.

***

"You just reverse the immediate rotational convex of the afterburner on the protomix," Suzee said. "Everyone knows that."

"Well, I don't," Catalina snapped, entering the answer into the compupad after a momentary hesitation. "And how am I going to pass my final if you just keep giving me the answers? I'm not a genius like you, alright? Sometimes it takes me a little time to think things through."

Suzee rolled her eyes, making a big show of sighing and leaning back in her chair, arms crossed. 

Between celebrating the Rejoicing Festival and finishing up last-minute homework, Catalina had very little time to either chat or study, and Suzee was getting rather irritated with both. Cat was nearly at a stage where she could start field testing, and she didn't want to mess it up. At the same time, she didn't want to exclude Suzee, no matter how much the other students teased her about talking to an invisible friend. She was there. She existed. While Suzee was a bit more conservative about talking to her friend on Yensid, Cat figured that if they were gonna make fun of her, so be it. They were the ones losing out.

The stress was starting to get to them both, though, not just Catalina. Suzee was deadset on making sure her friend passed the exams, though she was a bit annoyed with her at the same time. Here she had an engineering genius that no one else could see, and she didn't want answers to her study guide! Granted, at least Cat wasn't _using_ Suzee, but at this point, Suzee rather would have been used than ignored.

"You're late for astronomy," the Yensidian offered helpfully.

"Oh, Grozit…" Cat looked up at the clock, which read three minutes 'til ten. There was no way she'd make it on time. Not unless she ran.

Gathering her books, and allowing herself a quick check in the mirror, the Saturnian dashed out the door to her dorm and ran right into a passing Earther.

"Hey. Watch where you're going," he said as Catalina fell to the floor. She looked up at him. Dark-skinned and well-built, he was also likely a few years older than she was. His eyebrows arched curiously as he looked down at her. "Aren't you the one with the imaginary friend?"

Cat decided resolutely that she did not like this Earther.

"Invisible. Not imaginary. There's a difference."

He rolled his eyes. "…Whatever."

She started to haul herself to her feet when she found the boy's hand was outstretched, just in front of her face. "Just don't tell anyone that Harlan Band helped you up," he said as she accepted the hand. "They'd think I was in league with you or something."

Again, the warm, comforting feeling. Cat felt a rush of confidence. "In _league with me? She inquired. In league with the crazy Saturnian, you mean? You know, I have a name."_

"Yeah?" Harlan asked, as if this was remarkable news. "Well, what is it?"

"Catalina," she said, stooping over to pick up the books that had fallen. Harlan helped, a little. He recovered a book of music, and started paging through it as he stood back up, attention diverted. Cat was just about to introduce Suzee, as usual, when her friend spoke up.

"There'll be time to introduce me later," she said.

Cat offered her a grateful smile, then removed the music book from Harlan's hands.

"You like to sing?" he asked. "You know, I'm pretty damn good at singing, myself. You ought to hear me sometime. I'm good at a lot of things, though. Fighting. Flying—You know. On a Starship. Not that I've ever actually done it…"

Catalina never went to astronomy that morning. And as Suzee followed Cat and Harlan down the hall, she simply smiled, satisfied that she'd done her good deed for the day.

***

_So that's how you met Harlan, _Rosie stated.

_Yeah. He was such a jerk, _Cat responded, though that hint of humor was still in her voice. Rosie laughed a little as well. She had to admit, even back then, Harlan was full of himself.

There was a brief silence before the next dream, though it seemed weaker than the last few. Rosie retained her conscious thought, seeing fleeting images of Catalina's life…

***

It was just after lunch. Rosie approached the young rainbow-haired Saturnian, and held out her hand. "I'm Rosie. Bova said he knew you. I just wanted to say hello."

Catalina smiled, holding out her own hand. "Catalina. But most of my friends just call me Cat."

"Cat it is, then!" Rosie exclaimed, sitting down at the desk next to the girl.

The room was huge. A gym of some sort, and Harlan stood facing off against a curly-haired boy from Andromeda. Cat had heard of them, and how strong they were. Radu was well-known through Starcademy as being the only Andromedan there, though, and he was about to get severely beaten by a rather angry Earther.

The thing was, Radu was just taking it. Blow after blow landed about his face and stomach, and he just stood there. Cat couldn't take it anymore… She ran through the circle of onlookers and stood in front of Radu. Thus far, she'd had a tenuous friendship with Harlan… Depending on his mood, they knew each other. Today wasn't one of those days. And another of those days wouldn't come for some time.

"You stop right now, Harlan, or I swear I'll scream."

"Oh, look, everyone! It's the Crazy Saturn girl with her imaginary friend! She's gonna scream!" Harlan turned a bit, eliciting a response of laughter from those in attendance. He was really pleased with himself.

Catalina felt what had become a familiar comfort, urging her to stand up for the harried Radu.

"What are you doing?" the Andromedan asked.

"Cover your ears," Cat responded, smiling reassuringly to Radu. He did so, and Cat let out the loudest scream she could muster… Which was incredibly loud, compared to the loudest scream that most people could muster. The sonic property of it caused most of the people in the gym to drop to their knees, covering their ears. Bits of tile flaked off the walls. Somewhere, an alarm sounded.

As people writhed around on the ground, Radu took his hands off his ears.

"Thanks," he said.

Cat smiled. "No problem."

A hazy pathway led up into the spaceway between the Starcademy and the Christa. Five cadets, deemed Space Cases by the administration, stepped along it. Catalina was in the fore, trying to get Harlan to turn around. "This is a bad idea," she said. But that slight comfort told her that everything was okay…

Suddenly, Rosie and Catalina woke up.

***

"…Hello! Are you even _listening to me?!_ I said, the Neutrinos are feeding off your minds!"

Rosie's vision swam with the electricity again. Was that Bova's voice?

Catalina blinked. "What's going on?" 

"Oh, you're awake! Good. I'm gonna try to short the system again. If you feel like you're about to die, let me know, alright?"

Neither Rosie nor Catalina had any time to respond. Suddenly the already brightened segment of the tunnel became a whiteness so absolute that it was almost as complete as the blackness that had held them throughout Catalina's dreams.

Then, quite unexpectedly, the jumptubes kicked back online, and sent Rosie, Catalina, and Bova rocketing back on their current course toward the MedLab.

"Good news!" Thelma chirped. "Jumptube number eight is back online!" Rosie, Bova, and Catalina should be arriving in Medlab in… Ah. Nevermind. They are already there!"

Programming the directions into the network, Harlan leaped into the tube, followed almost immediately by Radu.

Catalina lay on the chair. Rosie and Bova stood next to her, and though Cat insisted she was okay, Rosie still insisted on checking her over, just to be sure.

Harlan and Radu were spit from the exit tube, each gathering his balance before approaching the trio in the center of the room. On the way, Radu picked up the Gizbot, which had also been carried through the network. He'd have to give it back to Thelma later.

"So, what happened was when Cat got shocked by the engine, she was still carrying around enough electricity to short out the static dampers in the jumptubes. It would have only lasted for a couple seconds, except for the fact that Cat's mind seems to be some sort of host for weightless objects."

"Funny, Bova," Catalina snapped.

"No, I mean it. Neutrinos. No one really knows what they do, but there's a few theories. They're like thoughts… Nothing moves faster than thoughts, right? Not even light. It's like the static dampers were amplifying them, and drawing them to you. Rosie… Well, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"But they're okay…?" Harlan spoke up, and Rosie and Bova turned, surprised. 

"Didn't see you come in," Bova drawled. "Yeah, they're fine. I'm great, too. Thanks for asking."

"So… Why did we keep falling asleep?" Rosie wondered.

"Well, with the dampers drawing in and amplifying the neutrinos… I'm guessing that they were meant to be viewed through dreams. You know… Like how coffee's made. It drips through a little at a time. Had Cat been able to wait until she was asleep, they simply would have been dreams. Instead, what you got were visions. Simple science."

"Science?" Radu asked.

"Science, if you were paying attention in class today," Bova returned.

"Wow. The first time Bova pays attention in class, and he's able to apply what he learns on the very day he learns it! I'm impressed." Harlan laughed at his own wit. The others were still more interested in Catalina's dreams, though, and ignored him. Harlan was used to it.

"I didn't think you dreamed, though," Radu offered, eyes narrowing considerably. He was perceptive, though, not invasive. If he were told to drop the subject, he would. Harlan, however… Rosie looked to him, and he was already getting that curious look in his eye. Seconds later, he'd pursue the question, unless he was expelled from the room.

"Look," Rosie began. "Cat needs to rest for a while. Why don't you all head up to ComPost… and I'll be up in a sec."

"Sure. Whatever," Bova shrugged. He didn't argue, though, which Rosie was glad for. She could usually count on Bova to do the right thing at the right time. And right now… She really needed them all to leave.

"…But…" Harlan began. Rosie shook her head.

"You know, I _never _know what's goin' on. Seriously…" Harlan's hands balled into fists. Radu grabbed his elbow, and guided him toward the jumptube. Reluctantly, he jumped in, and as it took him toward the command post, the thump of a frustrated fist striking the wall echoed back up into the MedLab.

Radu jumped in next, though Bova hung around for a while. "If you need anything, just give me a call, alright?"

Rosie nodded, turning back toward Cat as her ears picked up the gentle whooshing of the jumptube that signaled the fact that Bova was well on his way.

"So…?" Rosie asked.

Catalina smiled a bit. It was a calm, peaceful smile… If the feeling that Rosie had felt in the dreams could be personified, it would imitate that expression almost exactly. It was one of those 'Everything is going to be alright' type of expressions, even if it contained a bit of trial and error. "You mean… Why was I Dream-Gazing?" Catalina asked quietly.

"Yeah, kinda," Rosie admitted.

"I guess there's a scientific explanation for it. The dreams of the dead or dying. I suppose they could be carried as… like Bova said… particles of anti-matter. Thoughts. They can travel anywhere, faster than light. It's just that no one can see thought… so no one really takes into account the fact that dreams actually exist as the thoughts of yourself or others."

"And neutrinos don't have mass," Rosie affirmed. Cat nodded. The Mercurian shook her head, though, still confused. "Why were you dreaming about your life, though? What did it mean? Was… someone sending you a message?"

Cat nodded. "…I always thought I was alone. But whenever things got bad… Whenever I needed someone there with me… My parents were there, watching me."

The smile grew. A tear rolled down her cheek and was absorbed into the shoulder on her uniform.

"…They just wanted me to know that."


End file.
